I've never blogged before so bear with me...

Until just this morning I have been doing a lot of listening, asking questions of my operations peers and trying to hash out the reticence to jump into the bloggin fray. I have spoken with CSG members, DMCS workers, and even some students at the Privileges Desk. I will focus predominantly on the students today, but will discuss other feedback in later blogs.

The students, and I will go out on a limb and even say undergraduates, who as Ms. Wilson's data suggested, remain a constantly growing presence in the Library may ultimately be the future of funding for the next New Directions initiative.

It is naive at this point in California's fiscal history to assume that the U.C.'s will be receiving vastly increased funding in the future, the budget is pressured from all sides. In fact, it is the student body, the Alumni, and the research which will fund the future of the Library, and to acknowledge this now, and provide a positive responsive space for undergraduates (future Alumni and researchers) is to invest in the future of the Library.

What does this mean?

Student spaces within the Library need to be increased, in some cases decoupled from the physical collection, and adapted to their educational needs (i.e increasingly group oriented work, wireless access, previously physical items in digital formats, etc.) The spaces need to reflect current desires of the student body, this means making spaces where foods and drinks are available, and encouraged as part of the collaborative process. We should be not only observing how the Library's are being used currently, but also asking the freshest incoming students what they would like from the library, and what changes are being made in forward-thinking high school "media center" libraries which are integrating all aspects of media into an experience...

WHAMMO! You have yourself a student body experience that will remain present in the mind later on, when the ideas click communally and creatively in the Library, they are "Library" memories and last beyond the four-years they are on campus.

In keeping with investment of the student body, instead of farming out solicitations for designs for collaborative work spaces we should involve the space designing schools here on campus to cost save and provide an educational nexus with/for the library. All parts of the New Direction process regarding student spaces should be examined to maximize their utility, but also their inclusivity with the larger campus community and student body; personalized and potentially nostalgic for each student.

An active reaching out to the student body population is going to be crucial. We should aim to interact within student domains (e.g. dorms, student academic groups/clubs, etc.), asking them what they don't like and would prefer the Library space to be for them, involving them in the process of making/creating these New Directions initiatives that effect their enduser experience.

Again the future lies in positive Library experiences students leave campus with and return to support. I think it is perilous to forsake the least squeaky wheels on campus, just because they may not feel comfortable (or frankly have time) to invest in the future of the library, does not mean they aren't watching what we do...

How many Alumni parents did I meet during homecoming week showing off "their" Library to the kids? Lots…

Let's shoot for lots more in the future.